Exploring the world. I still think I left 2/3 of Morrowind unexplored when I put that game down, but the improvements made to Oblivion and Skyrim make that game feel like work to play now. It's too bad because that was my favorite world of the three.

For Skyrim, I'm trying to see as much of the world as I can through questing before I just start diving into random dungeons.

I tend to play through previous titles in a series before playing a new installment (Metal Gear, Legacy of Kain, Halo), so I'll probably do it here. But because of the expansiveness of the games, I'll probably limit myself to just the central story and suppress my completionist tendencies.

My first playthrough was as a Thief, so I resolved to think like a Thief. So:

No random Dungeons/ Mines/ Tombs. I'm a thief, not a crusader; I'm not walking into a pit of monsters without knowing there's something worth stealing.

BUT... I will sneak through a dungeon if someone is paying me to find something or a I hear a rumor of treasure in a certain location.

I only steal what I think a Thief would steal: valuable, easy to carry, easy to fence. Typically this limits me to: money, gems, jewelry, scrolls, and valuable potions. I'll make an exception for lightweight enchanted items if I want to learn their effects. If I can disenchant them on-site, all the better. I refuse to believe you can sneak around with steel platemail in your pack or an Ebony Warhammer strapped to your back.

Limiting what you take keeps you from becoming rich too fast and breaking the game. I also find it fun to to launder my gems and precious metals by crafting them into jewelry before I sell them.

I avoid fast-traveling from the map but make liberal use of the wagons to travel from city to city. I usually know where I'm going, and since Combat is not my specialty there's no need to get killed on my way there. I'll use a horse to travel from towns without wagons.

When in doubt, Escape. Thieves are strictly "live to fight another day" types, so I'm not above running or hiding. Gold doesn't spend well when you're dead. Having a horse makes this much easier when I do have to travel overland.

Henchmen tend to get in the way of a Thief. They'll often fight when you want to sneak or flee, and it doesn't feel quite right having my Housecarl witnessing me commit crimes. If I do have one with me, I'll leave them at the town's Inn while I go thieving.

Don't stick your neck out. One of my favorite experiences in Skyrim so far is navigating a cave full of trolls by shooting arrows against faraway rocks to draw their attention elsewhere while I sneak past. I had no chance against them but still managed to pinch my item and get away clean.

These rules allowed me to play a long campaign in Skyrim, fulfilling the Theives Guild questline and several sidequests, but caused me to skip over a ton of content. This means that while there may be some overlap with the next character I play, there will be so much I'm experiencing for the first time that it will feel like a unique game. I'm hoping my putting rules in place for a Sorcerer, Imperial, Stormcloak, and Mercenary will result in several engaging playthroughs instead of seeing everything at once and starting over.

Since all of the archetypes seemed viable in Skyrim, I've decided to play a different type of character for each faction.

Initially tried the Stealh Archer type for the Thieves' Guild, but after a few hours I realized I was playing exactly the way I played Oblivion. I restarted and went with the stealth-kill approach. Cast Fury from the shadows to clear a room and backstab the last man standing. It's much more fun trying to figure out how to navigate close enough to make a stealth-kill. Since I've put most of my points into Stamina and Magic, my health is low enough that there's no gurantee I'll live if I'm found. After a while I started casting Rune spells from distance as well.

For the Assassin's Guild quest, I've been using a stealth-kill character, but using Calm instead of Fury. I've found this is kind of overpowering, though, so I only use it as a bailout if I'm discovered sneaking up on someone.

Looking forward to trying some of the Fighter/Mage types when I tackle more questlines.

Once Sony or MS announce, the DRM issue will have to be laid out immediately or all of their PR is going to be ruined. Try to stay on message when the first 20 questions at any press event or interview are about DRM and Used Games.

Seems like a bad idea; the core market they count on to launch consoles might not buy used, but usually considers DRM a four-letter word.

I made a promise to myself that'd I'd try to be a real thief in Skyrim and not convince myself I could sneak around with an Ebony warhammer in my pack. Gold, jewels, potions, and scrolls are all I steal. Easy to carry, easy to fence. Takes a lot longer to make money, but it's more satisfying.

With Skyrim, I've decided to take the approach where I'm going to try a roleplay each archetype (Rogue / Fighter / Magic User). I'm playing the Theif/Assassin right now and I'm skipping over a lot of stuff, since I only think a Thief would venture into a dungeon if he were paid or heard a story of treasure inside. I'm pretty much skipping mines and bandit caves unless I can tell there is gold or ebony to be had, and only taking quests I think a Thief or Assassin would stick their necks out for.

I'm okay with this because between the three classes I think I'll see everything eventually, and it will make each playthrough more fulfilling. And since it's going to be 4-5 years before we see another Elder Scrolls game, there's no hurry to finish this one.

I started as a stealth/archer, but once I realized I was playing exactly the same as I played Oblivion, I started over. Now I'm trying a more Thief/Assassin character; daggers and magic. The stealth kills have really made it more viable to play as a melee assassin. Since I haven't been putting my perks into fighting, figuring out how to navigate dungeons is more engaging than it has ever been. Already I have:

Navigated a cavern by dousing torches

Made it through a mine of trolls by shooting arrows against rocks to distract them and sneak by.

Cleared a bandit hideout using Fury spells to kill everyone off, then unlocking a sabrecat pen to take out the weakened boss.

Used runes to clear a Frostbite Spider den.

These are all things I never tried (or couldn't try) in Oblivion. The companions are also useful; since I'm not yet able to hold my own aganist a pack of bandits, the companions are useful for getting from place to place.